Red Gift Wrap
by Wings Of Sanguine
Summary: Mr. Schuester manages to have the Glee Club come into a Ne York hospital to bring some holiday cheer into the patients lives- whether the patients were there for a day or a few months, it didn't really matter. But the club members might not be ready to come face to face with people dealing with such big issues. (DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GLEE OR RED BAND SOCIETY)
1. Chapter 1

Nurse Jackson fixed the short sleeve of her plum colored scrubs as she got behind the reception desk, eyeing a perky pate of muffins that sat on the desk. Each one was nearly paced, not a spek or crumb out of place. Nurse Jackson scoffed.

"Who put these here?" she asked, pointing with a thick finger. A young nurse in bright blue scrubs raised a hand, reddish-brown hair swaying a she shook her head.

"It was me," she admitted with a broad, toothy grin. Nurse Jackson gave the girl a look- she couldn't have been any older than twenty, although she still looked a bit young for that age as well. The smell of corn starch wafted up to her nose, making her scrunch her face.

"And what possessed you to do so, Brittany?"

Brittany shrugged, "I just thought we could be muffin buddies-"

"Yeah, no," Jackson deadpanned.

"I was wondering…." Brittany began, ignoring Jacksn's comment, "if I could like-"

"Don't use like like that, dear," Nurse Jackson groaned.

"-go see my boyfriend for an hour? During my beak!" Brittany's eyes gleamed with hope. Jackson rolled her eyes, giving an exasperated look to the male nurse who worked with her behind the desk.

"And you say this like i care." Nurse Jackson grumbled. As Brittany went on talking about her boyfriend and some dog- none of which Jackson thought really mattered- she grabbed the plate of muffins and tipped it over the edge of the counter.

"Oh." Brittany's face fell as she watched a tsunami of freshly baked muffins cascade into the garbage can, each of them falling with a half-hearted clunk as they hit the bottom. Jackson gave her a pressed look, her lips a thin line on her face.

"I suggest you get back to work, dear," she said. Brittany complied, carefully pushing past a man in a pair of brown trousers with a matching vest, a white shirt crinkled around his arms, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Nurse Jackson sighed as she let the male nurse go to a calling patient, who pointed out the cup of coffee sitting on the desk.

"Looks like they got your name right!" he laughed. She looked at the side of the cup as she took a sip. Scrawled on it with a black Sharpie was "Scary Bitch." She smirked, letting out a chuckle.

"The barista was some homeschooled type," she answered as he went, "didn't think he could spell it correctly but he managed."

The man in the brown pants and matching vest had stopped in front of the desk, much to Nurse Jackson's realization- and chagrin. She didn't want to have to deal with anyone besides her patients- and even then, she sometimes didn't even want to deal with them either. Earlier, a blond cheerleader- Kara was her name- had come in after collapsing, with a broken arm. When she had woken up she was a top-notch bitch.

This man however, didn't seem like he needed medical assistance. His brown hair was curly and neatly scrubbed, his face looking like a fresh daisy in a field- young and a little naive. With the whole proper attire thing going on, she thought he might have been a new doctor, but it didn't seem plausible.

"Can I help you sir?" Nurse Jackson cleared her throat, giving the man a pointed look. He jumped, hitching the jacket he was holding higher up on his arm. A small leather briefcase was in his other hand, looking like something businessmen carried with them from day to day.

"Yeah, uh, I was looking for a nurse or doctor I could talk to?" he said, leaning against the reception desk lightly, his fingers curling as he placed his hands on the counter.

"Uh-huh," she said, "you got someone to visit?" He shook his head.

"I was thinking of taking my kids to see someone," he said. Jackson scoffed, shaking her head.

"Why would you take your kids to a hospital if they ain't sick?" she asked him incredulously. It took a minute for the man to register the question, his light brown eyes widening once he realized what she meant.

"Oh! No- they aren't my kids, not by blood," he gasped, "I'm a teacher-"

"A teacher?"

"Yeah, I just wanted my kids to come see those in the hospital, maybe cheer them up a little." Nurse Jackson pondered the request. When a kid came to the hospital, she knew that most of them ended up staying for life. In fact, the hospital was like a boarding home. the patients were provided with things they needed and went to school on a daily basis. They were even allowed to decorate their rooms like they would if they were at home. During holidays, people would come in and decorate, sing ones and exchange gifts with the kids, and they loved it- especially those in the children's ward.

It might not be a bad idea…..

"How old are your students?" Nurse Jackson asked. The man shrugged.

"High school students," he answered, "sixteen to eighteen years old, I guess. Why?"

"Well," Nurse Jackson let her eyes roam around the waiting room to see if any doctors were around, "we have some patients here who could probably use a little cheering up now and again. A girl just came in who could probably use a good smack upside the head if you know what i mean." She grinned and both shared a chuckle. This guy was already on her good side, if he knew that there were just some kids even doctor and nurses couldn't stand.

"Yeah," he said, "it happens at school too." After a few minutes, he added, "So are you saying it's okay?" Jackson licked her lips, some of the dark purple lipstick she wore coming off. She'd have to get permission from a doctor, but then there was always Ruben….

"The owner of this hospital could probably allow it," she said under her breath, leaning over the counter to speak, "so if I just run it by him it should be fine." The man's face lit up, smile wide and blindingly bright wit perfect white teeth. Awkwardly, he reached over the desk, holding out a hand.

"Thank you so much!" he said happily, shaking her hand vigorously when she took it. Nurse Jackson felt like he was going to rip her arm out of its socket if he shook any harder. Nodding she withdrew, pulling out a pen and a pad of yellow post-its.

"Your name? Just so we can tell Ruben who asked?" she asked. Nodding, the man smacked his lips.

"Mr. Schuester," he said, "William Schuester. Again, thank you so much!" After that second thanking, she was beginning to like him a little less. Overly polite was something Nurse jackson hated dealing with, depending on the situation, of course.

"Of course," she said, tucking the note into her pocket. "Have a nice day, and we'll be in contact soon." Nodding, he waved goodbye, and Jackson swore she could see the man smiling like an idiot even as the elevator closed.


	2. Chapter 2

The kids in Glee Club were less than thrilled when they heard the news the next day, turning what was supposed to be a happy meeting into a barrage of questions and a tirade of rants.

"So, where exacty is this hospital?"

"My two dads planned to take me to see Carole Shelley live on Christmas Eve, Mr. Schue!"

"Do they have anything against gays?"

"Dude, why does it matter? they're sick."

"It happens!"

Mr. Shuester rubbed his temples- this was not going as expected, groaning when another of them mentioned celebrating Chinese New Year, and another claiming to be Jewish (when everyone knew they weren't.) The fluorescent lights beat down on him as he sat in front of the students.

"Guys, listen-" Mr. Schue began, holding up a hand to silence them. All were quite, staring at him with a mix of anger and confusion.

"Are you gonna try and back yourself up?" piped up Rachel Berry, a star student at the high school, if not a little…. overbearing and slightly annoying. She flicked her long brown hair over her shoulder, blowing at her bangs with a pink lip glossed pout.

"Quite frankly, yes!" Mr. Schue cried, making the group jump, "all of you- and please excuse my language- are acting like assholes!"

"But by doing this we're ruining our Christmases!" came a complaint from Artie. Mr. Schue glared at him the kid was wheeling himself next to Tina, who ran her finger through the pink streak in her hair.

It was unbelievable, how selfish these kids were being.

"You know, guys," Mr. Schue ran a hand through his hair, his fingers getting caught in a few curls along the way, "I honestly thought you'd react better than this…." Before he could continue, his cellphone began to ring, brewing through the uncomfortable squabbling.

"Is that your phone?" Brittany asked, playing with the end of her blond ponytail. Puck rolled his eyes at her, sitting on a stool a few chairs away.

"No duh, lamebrain," he admonished with a chuckle. Mr. Schue gave him a pointed look as he reached into his pocket, the chirping getting louder s it was freed from the cloth that was his pocket. He cast his eyes at the screen.

It was Nurse Jackson.

"So who is it?" was Mercedes' question, crossing her arms over her chest.

"The nurse I spoke with at the hospital," he answered, and the room suddenly quieted as he clicked a button, holding the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"_Mr. Schuester?"_ came Nurse Jackson's voice on the other end, full of static.

"Yeah, this is me," he said, "give me a sec, i'll put you on speaker." Ignoring her rather loud complaints, he placed the phone squarely in the palm of his hand, holding it out in front of him at the students, pressing the speaker button with his thumb. "There you go- say hi to the students."

"_Uh-huh,_" she said, _"about the students-"_

"Are we not allowed to come now?" Rachel asked, a confused look in her eyes. Tina scoffed, leaning back so she was looking at her.

"You didn't even want to go in the first place." she pointed out.

"Neither did you," Rachel shot back.

"_Yeah, um, when I spoke with Ruben-"_ Nurse Jackson began. Mr. Schue furrowed his brow.

"Ruben?"

"_The guy who owns the hospital,"_ Nurse Jackson explained, _"anyway, when I got to his office, the old man was high as a kite, so I spoke with one of the ER doctors."_ Mr. Schue snuck a glance at the club- all of them were staring at him expectantly, eyes boring into him.

"What did this doctor say?" Mr. Schue licked his lips.

"_The kids are gonna have to go there if you wanna do anything for them,"_ was Nurse Jackson's final response.

"But if they come here, what if something happens?"

"_Listen, it's either they go there or you try to force your way in here and I ain't cleaning that mess up, let me tell you,"_ Nurse Jackson snapped. The teacher sighed, rubbing his temples. Blood pounded in his veins, and he knew he was going to have to take a migraine pill later- maybe two if it was really bad.

"_So? You up for it?"_

It took a minute to ponder the decision. He didn't really want to have the kids risk getting sicker than they already were. But on the other hand, it would help to have some fun during the holidays, especial since they were all stuck in the hospital. It would be nice to get out once in a while, right?

"I'll set up some visitor passes then," he agreed, followed by some groans, others giving excited claps and whistles.

"_I take it those were your students?"_ Nurse Jackson asked. M. Schue nodded.

"Yup," he said, "those were my students. Don't worry- they're pretty excited to see them." There was silence on the other end before Nurse Jackson spoke again.

"_Uh-huh,"_ she said, _"I'm just gonna tell you now that I'm bringing only a handful of them. I can't bring the entire hospital or it would be chaos."_

"Understandable. How many kids then?" He was really hoping it was five or six, not, say, twenty. That was the size of a classroom, and quite frankly, he dealt with enough classrooms for a lifetime.

"_About six,"_ Nurse Jackson said. There was hitch on the phone as she quickly corrected herself, _"Nope. Never mind- five. I just remembered I can't exactly wheel a coma patient out of the hospital for a field trip." _

"Okay…." Mr. Schue said awkwardly, quickly trying to sound cheerful, "well, we'll be glad to have these five kids come visit. See you guys soon!" Nurse Jackson said a quick goodbye before hanging up. A somberness hung in the air as the kids realized who exactly was coming.

"That poor kid…" Rachel sniffed, tears suddenly springing to her eyes.

"Yeah- and you guys were refusing to go," Mr. Schuester said, "now when these kids come you need to be as nice as you can- for them, okay?" There was a collective agreement as the bell rang.

Mr. Schuester could only hope the visit would go well.


	3. Chapter 3

Nurse Jackson jumped when she got off the phone to find Leo and Dash standing there, evidently listening in on her conversation with the teacher. Leo's bald head seemed to shine under the fluorescent lights, and he was leaning on Dash for support.

"So, we're visiting a high school?" Dash asked, squinting at the nurse with suspicion. Nurse Jackson pursed her lips- obviously he hadn't heard the conversation correctly, or he may as well have been high.

"Yeah, she confirmed, "some goody-goody teacher wants to have his little club sing for you kids, but they didn't want to come here." She began filing through some random paperwork she found on the desk, eyes scanning the pages for any mistakes made in the reports. Ever since Brittany had messed up Emma's eating charts, she and to be super careful.

"Jerks," Leo muttered under his breath, licking his lips as he swayed slightly. Dash grabbed Leo by the shoulder, steadying him as they then walked carefully down the hall to Leo's room, which was just a few doors down from the lobby. Nurse Jackson watched them go, shaking her head at Leo hopping on his foot as Dash basically dragged him along.

She knew it hurt him, but Leo really had to start using that damn prosthetic leg. The two of them were obviously going to tell Emma and Kara- maybe Jordi once he woke up, since he had slept in that morning, evidently skipping school. She heaved a sigh as she realized that out of everyone, the kid resting in the room across from the exception desk, the one shared with cheerleader Kara, was unable to participate in all this. He was unable to move or even voice an opinion on the matter.

Charlie, who was currently having a volunteer strum a guitar by his bedside, singing a song from The Fray.

"How To Save A Life," Nurse Jackson said to herself, hearing the man's voice warble into the reception area, "yeah- mine hopefully." She resorted to shuffling through some papers on the desk, manila file folders strewn about. Scanning the writing, Jackson saw Brittany's bubbly handwriting, small windy faces and little hearts drawn all around the borders, dotting the 'i's. Shaking her head, she scanned the official document titles stamped across the top.

Brittany had taken it upon herself to fill out Emma's eating charts again.

Nurse Jackson could only resort to flicking through them, menial chatter wafting through the hospital lobby, accompanied by the occasional guitar strumming.

She really hoped Brittany hadn't messed up the charts, or else there was probably going to be hell to pay- and those Glee Club kids were already becoming a pain in her ass. Seriously- why did anyone want to come to a hospital where they could catch any sickness in the world?! Jackson quickly corrected herself- being a nurse was to take care of those who need it, not belittling others who wanted to help. The man's voice waived through the air as he finished the song and she sighed.

These Glee Club kids better be good at what they do, or quite frankly, she wasn't sure if the visit would be good at all. And listening to this guy day in and day out was beginning to make her ears bleed.


End file.
